This article is from the source 'rtcom' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.rt.com/news/395940-disabled-man-jailed-robbery/

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Russian prison authorities working to release paralyzed man jailed for armed robbery Paralyzed man jailed for gunpoint robbery of ex-special service agent in Russia
(about 13 hours later)
Russia’s Federal Penal Correction Service said that it is working to facilitate the release of a paralyzed man who weighs just 18 kilograms after his imprisonment for the armed robbery of a former Special Service troop caused a vast public outcry. A paralyzed man who suffers from spinal muscular atrophy and weighs just 18kg (40lbs) has been jailed for the armed robbery of a former special forces soldier. The man is a wheelchair user and says he won’t survive in prison.
READ MORE: Jailed pilot Yaroshenko asks US President Trump to send him to Russia Anton Mamayev, 28, was transported to the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility in Moscow on June 30. He suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, a rare progressive genetic disease which affects the part of the nervous system that controls voluntary muscle movement.
A district court in the Russian capital found Mamayev guilty of armed robbery and sentenced him to four years and six months in prison. Mamayev is said to have threatened to shoot his accuser – who has not been named – and leave him to die in the woods.
The 28-year-old Anton Mamayev, who is forced to use a wheelchair due to suffering from spinal muscular dystrophy, was delivered to Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility in Moscow on June 30. Mamayev reportedly bought a scooter from the plaintiff for 160,000 rubles ($2,600), which he was then planning to resell. Later, however, the victim came to police and claimed that Mamayev had threatened him at gunpoint and stole the scooter.
A district court in the capital ruled that Mamayev was guilty of armed robbery and sentenced him to four and a half in prison. Mamayev is said to have threatened to shoot his accuser and leave him to die in the woods. The court was told that Mamayev had threatened to shoot the accuser in the legs, put him in a car trunk and drive him to the forest, as well as “cripple [him], cut off his ears, put out his eyes and shoot him dead.”
He was accused of the crime by a man who recently sold him a scooter, which the paralyzed man is said to have planned to resell. Investigators, however, were unable to discover the gun and the knife supposedly used in the crime.
The court was told that Mamayev threatened to shoot the accuser in the legs, put him in a car trunk and drive him into the forest as well as “cripple [him], cut off his ears, put out his eyes and shoot him dead.” Investigators, however, were unable to discover the gun and the knife supposedly used in the crime.The accuser maintained in the court that he had served in the Spetznaz, according to MK.ru daily. Mamayev denied the charges, saying the man had a grudge against him and allegedly owed him money.Another person who received a three-year sentence as an accomplice in the crime has been reportedly hired to take care of the disabled man.RT contacted Mamayev’s lawyer on Monday, who said that his client’s health has rapidly declined during the 10 days of his detention and he’s “almost at death’s door.”  The court delivered its verdict after examining plaintiff and witness testimonies, investigative documents and CCTV footage from the crime scene, Russian news agencies reported, citing the court's spokeswoman, Maria Prokhorycheva.
“I won’t survive here,” the disabled man earlier told human rights activists who visited him at Matrosskaya Tishina, MK.ru reported. The plaintiff maintained in court that he had served in the Russian special forces, according to MK.ru daily. Mamayev denied the charges, saying the man had a grudge against him and allegedly owed him money.
The detention facility doesn’t have the equipment and nurses to provide the constant care Mamayev requires, as he is unable to operate his own wheelchair, eat or go to the toilet on his own. The paralyzed inmate said that he was feeling excruciating pain during the night due to the lack of the required rehabilitation procedures.The case has caused a public outrage in Russia after appearing in the media. A spokesman for Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said they are studying the case “in detail.”Despite his disability, Mamayev had led an active life. He has a wife and small daughter and owns a business. Human rights advocates and people on social media have refused to believe that a paralyzed man could have committed the crime in question, and doubted his chances of survival behind bars. Mikhail Fedotov, chairman of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, has called the case of Mamayev a “terrible situation,” adding that he has appealed to the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office.  “It’s completely incomprehensible why both the investigative authorities and the court – who, apparently, have no eyes or conscience – put this man in jail for the armed robbery of two adult strong men. Mamayev’s case is, of course, out of the ordinary,” Olga Romanova, who heads the Rus’ Sidyaschaya charity that helps inmates and their families, told Business FM. Another man, identified by Russian media as Vasily, who received a three-year sentence as an accomplice in the crime had reportedly been hired to take care of Mamayev. Vasily was taking care of Mamayev in his cell.
Mamayev’s condition is not included in the list of illnesses which allow the authorities to free a prisoner, according to a decree from the Justice Ministry. 
Despite his disability, Mamayev has continued to lead an active life. He has a wife and young daughter and owns a business.
RT contacted Mamayev’s lawyer on Monday, who said that his client’s health has rapidly declined during the 10 days of his detention and that he’s “almost at death’s door.”
“I won’t survive here,” Mamayev earlier told human rights activists who visited him at Matrosskaya Tishina, MK.ru reported.
The detention facility doesn’t have the equipment and nurses to provide the constant care Mamayev requires, as he is unable to operate his own wheelchair, eat or go to the toilet on his own, he says. 
He said that he was in excruciating pain at night due to the lack of the required rehabilitation procedures in prison.
The case has caused outrage in Russia after it appeared in the media. Human rights advocates and social media users have refused to believe that a paralyzed man could have committed the crime in question, and doubt his chances of survival behind bars. 
Social media users have dubbed Mamayev the “Russian Hawking” in reference to Stephen Hawking , a British theoretical physicist who is suffering from a similar condition called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is also a wheelchair user.
“A disabled man attacks ex-Special Forces troop. This is absurd!” “Everything has been perverted,” “I don’t have any comments,” people wrote on Russia's VKontakte (In Contact) social network. 
“The guy is not guilty,” “Free Mamayev,” echoed other people on social media, calling for his immediate release.
A petition on change.org has been launched, calling on the Russian authorities to review the details of the case.
A spokesman for Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office said they are studying the case “in detail.”
Mikhail Fedotov, chairman of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, has called the case of Mamayev a “terrible situation,” adding that he has appealed to the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office.
“It’s completely incomprehensible why both the investigative authorities and the court – who, apparently, have no eyes or conscience – put this man in jail,” Olga Romanova, who heads the Rus’ Sidyaschaya charity which helps inmates and their families, told Business FM.
On Tuesday, Russia's commissioner for human rights, Tatyana Moskalkova, confirmed that Mamayev was transferred to a medical facility for examination. She added that she had earlier met Mamayev’s father and promised to help the paralyzed man.